1. Field of the Invention
The invention, in general, relates to a novel screw foot of the kind used for leveling, or adjusting the height of, household appliances such as, for instance, washing machines, dryers, dishwashers, refrigerators and the like (hereinafter sometimes collectively referred to as “appliance”) and, more particularly, to an adjustable screw foot provided with a shank which over its longitudinal extent is provided with a thread cooperating with the interior thread of a sprocket mounted for rotation relative to the appliance and operatively connected, by way of an adjustment rod, to a toothed gear such that motion of the toothed gear causes the rotationally secured shank of the foot to exercise a translatory movement.
In household appliances and, more particularly, dishwashers, a distinction is made between so-called free-standing dishwashers and dishwashers integrated into wall cabinets of a kitchen or other suitable space. Either type of appliance is provided with feet adapted to adjustable its height or level it relative to a support surface so as to ensure the stationary stability of the appliance on an uneven surface. Thus, for adjusting their height, dishwashers integrated into a cabinet are provided at their rear end with feet which may be adjusted from the front of the machine by means of an adjustment rod.
2. The Prior Art
A foot on the kind adjustable in this manner from the font of the appliance has been disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 4,991,805-Solak et al. The foot is provided with a shank which at its free end is provided with a support plate. The shank is externally threaded over its length and cooperates with the interior thread of a toothed wheel. The toothed wheel is rotatably supported relative to the housing of the appliance so that the supporting force is transmitted to the housing by way of the toothed wheel. A sprocket is operatively connected to the toothed wheel so that rotation of the sprocket causes the rotationally secured shank of the foot to go through a translatory movement.
Thus, if the dishwasher has been inserted into a kitchen cabinet, the otherwise unaccessible foot may be moved from the front of the dishwasher to bring about a heightwise adjustment thereof and to align it and provide the requisite stationary stability.
The disadvantage of this prior art feature is believed to be that the height of its foot can only be adjusted by a sprocket connected to an adjustment rod. It is not possible, however, to adjust the foot by direct access thereto as would be the case in a free-standing appliance, without the sprocket and adjustment rod.